The story made headlines and raised awareness about the ever-present racial profiling that continues to permeate our society. Unfortunately, though, Watt’s story has a similar narrative to another situation involving a group of women and a security guard at the Standard Hotel in New York City.

Kantaki Washington, the executive director of Sol Afrik, and her two friends were invited to the downstairs bar at the swanky West Village hotel by a group of men they met in the lobby. An African American man walked up to their table to talk to the women but was quickly escorted out by a security guard, which the women thought was “odd.”

However, before the security guard walked away, he looked at the three women and said, “Come on, ladies, you can buy drinks here, but you cannot solicit.”

Washington and her friends were confused and questioned the guard.

“We were like, ‘What are you saying?’ So he was like, ‘Come on, ladies, you know what you’re doing. There’s no soliciting here,'” she told HuffPost Live’s Alyona Minkovski.

And then the women realized what was going on — they were the only African American women at the hotel at the time, and they were being accused of prostitution.

“That’s when I stood up and explained, ‘Look, I have a legal background, I went to law school, what are you saying? These women are educators. There’s no way that we are here soliciting, nor do we have any reason to solicit.’ And he was like, ‘I don’t really care who you are,'” Washington said.

Washington and her friends wanted an apology and asked the manager how to get in touch with guest services, but they were given a “hesitant” reaction. It wasn’t until a reporter later found out about their story that the Standard started giving them more attention.

“When a reporter got the story and reached out to [the Standard], all of a sudden they were ready, willing and able to have conversations with us,” Washington said.

The hotel subsequently emailed Washington, offering to sponsor a dinner for her and her friends that she said would have amounted to about $400 and a bottle of champagne. However, the women found the offer offensive.

“For us, it was kind of an insult to be given a dinner. We felt like we’re professional women, we can kind of afford that,” she said. “We think there should be more of a greater action taken on behalf of the hotel. They need to make sure that patrons feel comfortable, that they have a good image and also to rectify the situation. We were the only African American women in there.”

Since the story has become more public, Washington is considering the role that racial-profiling may have played in the security guard’s highly offensive behavior.

“I’m not saying maybe race was an issue, but I can say we were the only African American women in there and they targeted us for prostitution immediately,” she said. “No questions asked, and there was no apology that was given on the spot.”

WASHINGTON/TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) - Students galvanized by the deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school confronted lawmakers on Wednesday with demands to restrict sales of assault rifles, while President Donald Trump suggested arming teachers as a way to stop more U.S. rampages.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New sealed criminal charges have been filed in federal court in the case brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller against two of President Donald Trump's former campaign officials, a court record indicated on Wednesday.

(Reuters) - Sam Nunberg, a former political aide to Donald Trump, will be interviewed on Thursday as part of a U.S. special counsel's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

PODGORICA (Reuters) - An unknown person threw an explosive device, probably a hand grenade, at the United States embassy building in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, before blowing himself up, the government said on Thursday.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea spent around 240 million won ($223,237) on the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and her entourage during their three-day visit for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, a government official said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee showed more confidence in the need to keep raising interest rates at its last policy meeting, with most believing that inflation would perk up.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - China's rising power and a resurgent trans-Pacific trade pact will be at the top of the agenda when Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and U.S. President Donald Trump meet in Washington this week, an Australian official said on Thursday.

(Reuters) - U.S. evangelist Billy Graham, who counseled presidents and preached to millions across the world from his native North Carolina to communist North Korea during his 70 years in the pulpit, died on Wednesday at the age of 99, a spokesman said.

DHAKA/BHASAN CHAR/COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Bangladesh is racing to turn an uninhabited and muddy Bay of Bengal island into home for 100,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled a military crackdown in Myanmar, amid conflicting signals from top Bangladeshi officials about whether the refugees would end up being stranded there.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. hate groups expanded last year under President Donald Trump, fueled by his immigration stance and the perception that he sympathized with those espousing white supremacy, the Southern Poverty Law Center said on Wednesday

The SLAP

Bill Cosby Biographer

Bill Cosby’s biographer provides a comprehensive look at the famed comedian’s life, warts and all

I’m Vanessa Cunningham

Founder and CEO of Unhealthy No More™, Inc.

On the set of “Our Town”

Mr. Cummings with his long term friend and fabulous actor, David Hyland. He portrays Sam Craig.